Just change the price to whatever you want using a flipper zero and the linked app.

It’s a bit half-baked though because it wouldn’t change the db figures… so I guess it would have to be coupled with some social engineering.

  • Laser@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    25 days ago

    There is a law against misleading advertisement regarding price ( UWG §5 2 Section 2) but that law requires intent, it doesn’t apply on case of honest mistakes. Also this was about the price tag in stores, not advertisements

    • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      25 days ago

      From where I sit it’s a basic violation of contract law. Suppose I offer you a laptop for €80. You accept. Then I say “actually, I change my mind… I didn’t mean to make the price so low”. In the US (and probably many countries), the contract is legally binding.

      If I offer you a laptop for €80 and you stand there and ponder whether you want to accept, and then I say “actually, I change my mind” before you accept, that’s legal. An offer can always be retracted before it is accepted. But once it is accepted, both parties are committed and only a mutual agreement to nullify can reverse it.

      So I must say I would be afraid to engage in contracts in Germany given that offers can apparently be retracted after they are accepted.

      Also this was about the price tag in stores, not advertisements

      It’s the same thing. A price tag is an advertisement in its simplest form. It is also an offer. I’m a bit baffled that Germany can deviate so strangely being in the EU. It sounds like honest mistakes don’t have a specific protection, IIUC it’s just the absence of a prohibition that makes them feasible. But how can contract law miss this? There will probably be many more price mistakes (and “mistakes”) as more and more shops adopt dynamic price tags for various shenanigans.

      There will be a lot more offer mistakes by robots in the future. The states under right-wing control will side with the corporations and give them immunity to promises made by bots. Liberal controlled states will force corps to honor promises made by bots.

      You might be interested in this past thread involving Flixbus:

      https://slrpnk.net/post/27072322

      • Laser@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        25 days ago

        Suppose I offer you a laptop for €80. You accept.

        The actual legal construct is that you offer a notebook and then say “I suggest you offer me 80€ for this laptop”. I do it, but at this point, only I have agreed to the trade. You are still free to decline and ask a higher price.

        The chatbot thing is the same. Flix offered a ride through their bot, and the other side offered nothing. Since both agreed, the trade became valid. The court didn’t rule in the customer’s favor because this was unlawfully advertised, but because both parties agreed to a trade they negotiated.

        • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          25 days ago

          The actual legal construct is that you offer a notebook and then say “I suggest you offer me 80€ for this laptop”. I do it, but at this point, only I have agreed to the trade. You are still free to decline and ask a higher price.

          Certainly that is possible for a seller to structure a transaction that way with careful word choices, but surely that is not how a court would view a price tag on a product that is for sale in a store. I do not approach the cash register and make an offer. It’s non-verbal. I put the product in front of the cashier and say nothing. Why? Because the offer was already made. I am merely accepting.

          If you were a grocery shop owner, you would not want customers making offers. Imagine people showing up to the conveyor belt with a list of quoted prices making different offers for each item. The time consumption and error proneness of it would alone cost you a lot of money.

          The chatbot thing is the same. Flix offered a ride through their bot, and the other side offered nothing. Since both agreed, the trade became valid. The court didn’t rule in the customer’s favor because this was unlawfully advertised, but because both parties agreed to a trade they negotiated.

          You seem confused. The court did rule in the customer’s favor in the Canadian airline case – and rightfully so. Flix has a popup that attempts to flip such decisions in advance. It remains a question whether that trick would actually work the way Flixbus lawyers hope it will. But they can only do so much.

          • Laser@feddit.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            25 days ago

            but surely that is not how a court would view a price tag on a product that is for sale in a store

            It is actually exactly how the courts view this

            You seem confused. The court did rule in the customer’s favor in the Canadian airline case – and rightfully so. Flix has a popup that attempts to flip such decisions in advance. It remains a question whether that trick would actually work the way Flixbus lawyers hope it will. But they can only do so much.

            That’s what I said. A court would rule in the buyer’s favor even under the German system because the bot did not advertise or made a negotiation suggestion, but agreed on a negotiated trade.

            Whether that clause Flix uses is enough to rule out such cases remains to be seen I guess.

            • activistPnk@slrpnk.netOP
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              edit-2
              25 days ago

              It is actually exactly how the courts view this

              That’s abusive. How did the German courts get so pro-corporate bent against human beings? I know right-wing conservatives have taken power in Germany as xenophobia is pegged to the max, but I would expect the courts to be a more stable progression. More reasonable. It’s obviously absurd to say a price tag is not an offer but a suggested price to solicit an offer.

              This perversion somewhat creates a bit of justification for shoplifting in Germany.

              • Laser@feddit.org
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                2
                ·
                25 days ago

                No store I know about actually uses this on a regular basis, programmable price tags are usually only used to reflect special offers. The only sectors making regular use of dynamic pricing are ticket sales, be it concerts or flights or whatever.

                Interesting enough, if you decide to put a price tag on goods (which every store does for obvious reasons) it has to include tax.

                Also, the courts view it like this because this is the actual law, not their interpretation.